A better mythology for system design

ABSTRACT

The past decades have seen huge improvements in computer systems but these have proved difficult to translate into comparable improvements in the usability and social integration of computers. We believe that the problem is a deeply rooted set of assumptions about how computer systems should be designed, and about who should be doing that design.

Human organizations are continually evolving to meet changing circumstances of resource and need. In contrast, computers are quite rigid, incapable of adaptation on their own. Therefore when computer systems are incorporated into human organizations, those organizations must adapt the computers to changing circumstances. This adaptation is another human activity that technology should support, but our design philosophies are oddly silent about it.

This paper explores the origins of these problems in the norms developed for managing human organizations, proposes partial solutions that can be implemented with current systems technology, and speculates about the long-term potential for radical improvements in system design.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES

General Terms:
Design, Theory

Keywords:
accommodation, mythology, pliant systems, system evolution